Earn Me
by everlovingdeer
Summary: "Earn me," I said before I could take it back. "If you want me the way that you're making it seem, then earn me, Black."
1. Earn Me

In the wizarding world, your 17th birthday was important for two reasons. Both happened because you were an adult in the eyes of the Ministry. Firstly, you were now legally allowed to do magic outside of Hogwarts. And secondly, the Ministry themselves wrote to you to tell you just what the future had in store for you. Or rather, just who. And that was why I was so on edge today.

On the morning of my 17th birthday, I sat anxiously with my leg jumping up and down under the table. Drumming my fingers against the table top, I pushed my food around the plate as I waited. Every few minutes, I would continue to look around the hall to see if the owls were anywhere in sight. My friends continued to watch me but made no comment on my nervous habits; they had behaved the same or would behave the same on their 17th birthdays too.

And then the moment that I simultaneously looked forward to and dreaded at the same time was on the horizon. The owls flew into the Great Hall in one large flock and instantly headed straight for their owners. My eyes trailed after every owl, wondering how I was supposed to identify a Ministry owl and because I knew I wouldnt be able to do that, my eyes instead followed each owl that approached the Hufflepuff table. That was until one of the owls soared down and perched on the table next to me, waiting.

The rest of the chatter of the Great Hall faded into background noise as my eyes raised to meet my dormmates. At my continued hesitance, they silently prodded for me to take the letter that the owl was holding out towards me.

With a deep breath, I reached out with a faintly shaking hand. The owl flew away instantly, disappearing into the crowd of retreating birds. Staring down at the letter in my hand, I turned it over slowly and focused on the Ministry wax seal. Inside this letter, this small letter was potentially the key to my future. Merlin, this letter was supposed to tell me who my soulmate was and from a young age, it was all the Wizarding world told us to look forward to. And now the moment was here, but I was so very terrified. No one ever talked about how the sight of an ordinary envelope was enough to freeze the blood in your veins.

"Young," Aliki Walters prompted and I swallowed before breaking the seal.

"I don't think I can," I admitted quietly, wincing at just how much my voice was shaking.

"We can open it for you," she offered but I shook my head abruptly.

Looking up from the envelope, I raised my eyes to the apprehensive ones that were waiting to hear the outcome. Standing quickly, I shook my head again when they started to protest. I couldn't do this in the middle of the great hall.

"I'll be right back," I managed to get out, grabbing my bag and throwing it over my shoulder.

Making sure that I had the letter with me, I rushed out of the Great Hall and ran down the corridor. I didn't listen to the portraits that called out for me to walk and just headed straight for the nearest girl's toilets.

Ducking into the first cubicle, I locked the door behind me and remained standing inside the small space. Finally, alone and away from the inquisitive eyes, I opened the letter and forced myself to read it. My eyes trailed over the ministry jargon before finally focusing on the name written in big cursive letters at the bottom of the parchment. The sight of it was enough to have my breath leaving me in one big gasp. It just wasn't possible. Reading over the name again and again, I actually contemplated writing back to the ministry to tell them that they had to have made some sort of mistake.

Hurriedly folding the letter back up again, I stuffed it into my bag and made my way to the Great Hall. My steps were much slower this time, much more patient and really it was because I was still unsure of the identification of my soulmate. I hadn't ever heard of the Ministry making a mistake with something so important, but there was always a first time. Unless they hadn't made a mistake?

But, they always said that just because you knew who your soulmate was, it didn't mean that you were forced to be with them. Besides, it wasn't as if you had to date and marry your soulmate! There were plenty of soulmates who simply remained as friends. Sometimes your soulmate was nothing more than your best friend. Although I couldn't see myself being best friends with mine.

When I finally reached the table, I took my seat back at the Hufflepuff table and met my friend's waiting eyes. They waited and waited. And because I knew they were bursting with curiosity and that they probably would burst sooner or later, I decided to get it over and done with.

When I spoke, it was barely more than a whisper, "Sirius Black."

There was a myriad of gasps and glances towards the Gryffindor table. Their reactions had generated quite a buzz from our housemates and I instantly kicked their legs from underneath the table. When they turned towards me, with a pained grimace, I looked at them incredulously. Apparently they were so shocked that subtly had flown out of the window.

"Don't be so obvious about it," I complained, sneaking a quick glance at the Gryffindor table before forcing myself to return my eyes to Georgia's.

"Well he obviously knows," she protested. "His birthday is in November – long gone. Remember they threw a party to celebrate in Gryffindor tower?"

"No wonder Potter kept trying to make you wish Black a happy birthday!" Aliki exclaimed as if she couldn't believe how devious they were.

"I don't want to talk about this," I said eventually with a sigh. When they went to protest, I shook my head. "I will think about it later; but for now, I just want to enjoy the rest of my birthday in peace. Can we please just get to class?"

They tried to change my mind for a few more minutes before relenting after I promised that I would think about it tomorrow. We walked into our shared Transfiguration class and instantly my eyes went to the two tables at the back of the classroom – the ones that the Marauders always sat at. Without realising it, I had stopped still in the doorway, blocking my dormmates from coming in, when my eyes met Black's. Did meeting your soulmate's eyes always send a flurry of butterflies into your stomach? Or did that only happen when your soulmate was Sirius Black?

He continued to hold my gaze, not even responding to Potter when he nudged him. Realising that something was off with his best friend, Potter followed his gaze before straightening up when he noticed that I was the person that Black was watching.

I averted my gaze quickly, taking my usual seat at the front of the classroom. Merlin, I could swear that I felt his eyes burning into my back for the rest of the lesson.

* * *

Like I had promised my friends, once my birthday was officially over, I gave the whole soulmate business some serious thought. Unsurprisingly, they weren't pleased with the conclusion that I came to; if he wasn't going to approach me, then I wasn't going to approach him either. They tried to insist that unless one of us made the first move, we would find ourselves constantly revolving around one another until who knows when. I wouldn't be convinced.

Truthfully, I hadn't expected Black to approach me and so when he did approach me, only a few days after my birthday, I was surprised. He'd bid his time well, waiting until I was returning to the common room at the end of the day. The sight of him rounding the corner had me coming to a still, but he pressed on. Merlin, I silently prayed that he would walk right past me but of course, he didn't.

Black stopped a few steps away from me and just continued to watch me. Swallowing nervously, I tightened my hold on the strap of my bag. He really was abnormally handsome. I found myself watching him apprehensively, waiting for him to say or do something. He must have had some sort of reason for approaching me out of the blue.

"I know I'm a few days late," he started slowly, "but happy birthday, Young."

"Thank you," I said quietly and when Black continued to watch me expectantly, I almost didn't know what to do. _Almost._

Shouldering my bag properly, I contemplated walking past him. As if he knew what I was thinking, Black stepped a little to the side, blocking the path I had been thinking of taking.

"Did you get any letters?" he prompted and for a moment I wondered why he was beating around the bush.

"I got quite a few for my birthday," I said quietly, shuffling from one foot to the other. "Cards and presents and stuff from relatives."

"Right." He nodded, though his eyes narrowed when he realised I was evading what he really meant. "Any letters from the Ministry?"

I faltered then for a moment, contemplating what would be the best way to talk to him about the topic I dreaded. Merlin, if I could have had a few more days to think this over, it would have been so much better.

"Don't try to lie to me," he said abruptly, voice softening when I visibly started a little bit at his voice. "You were never any good at lying, Young."

"I wasn't, was I?" I murmured and when he continued to watch me, I sighed before admitting, "I did get one."

Black stepped towards me then, moving to close the space between us and I reacted before thinking. Bringing up a hand to keep him at bay, I didn't react to the press of his chest against my palm. Instead, I looked up into his eyes and watched as he stared down at me with clear and obvious confusion.

When he spoke next, it was quiet as if he thought I didn't understand, "You're my soulmate, Young."

"I know." When my voice came out much weaker than I wanted it to, I cleared my throat and explained, "but that doesn't have to mean anything."

Black faltered a step back as if my words had some physical force behind them. "What?" he shook his head, trying to make me understand. "What in Merlin's name are you _talking_ about?"

"Black I – "

"We're soulmates, damn it!"

"I know," I agreed steadily. "But Black, that doesn't have to mean what the majority of people say it does. It can mean that we'll make good friends, the best of friends even. Or, or we don't have to be involved in each other's lives at all. There are cases of soulmates who chose to do that."

"Are you listening to yourself?" he demanded. His hand came up as if he wanted to grasp my shoulder to shake some sense into me but he caught himself quickly. Curling his hands into fists, he returned them to his side. "Do you have any idea what you're trying to deprive me of? Or yourself? We could be the best thing for each other and yet –"

"I can see us being good friends," I tried to justify quietly. "But, anything more than that and I just – I just won't. Can't. I'm sorry."

Looking at him for another moment, I went to walk around him to finally get to the entrance of the common room. I expected him to let me go without another word, but of course, he didn't. He might have stopped himself from reaching out for me before, but he didn't try this time. He actually reached out for me then, grabbing my arm and drawing me back to face him.

I tried to draw away from him, but he held on firm. "Why?"

"Please let me go," I said quietly and he reluctantly listened to me. "Can we talk about this another time? I have rounds coming up."

"We _will_ talk about this," he said as if it was a threat and I nodded.

It was certainly a good thing that the summer holidays were coming up. I only needed to avoid him for a few more days.

* * *

Summer holidays were supposed to be the time where you could relax, where you could leave the stress from school far behind. They were _not_ supposed to be the time where you found yourself confronted by everything that you were hiding from. Merlin, what was the point on relying on the holiday to escape when I couldn't even escape anything!

I knew that Sirius Orion Black was a persistent bugger – one that was incredibly unique in the ways that he used to tackle some issues. Of course, I knew he wouldn't be pleased that I'd consistently avoided him. Personally pleased that my avoidance of him meant that we would talk, if we did talk, in the coming September.

Clearly he didn't share the sentiment.. But I certainly hadn't expected him to get so annoyed that he would try to communicate with me through the fireplace!

Thankfully, when his face appeared in the fire place, I was the only one in the front room. But, knowing my rotten luck, the sound of a man's voice would lure my parents into the front room. And what a way that would be for them to meet my soulmate.

"Sirius Black," I hissed instantly, rising from my seat and crossing the distance to the fireplace. Kneeling in front of the fireplace, I waited expectantly to see what he wanted to say so desperately to me that he decided to hijack our fireplace.

"I irritated you," he said plainly, "and as a result, you called me by my first name. You know, it would be nice to hear you call me Sirius when you're pleased with me as well."

"Why have you decided to appear in my bloody fireplace?" I demanded, not swayed.

"You refused your soulmate," he said as if I hadn't been there. "Like that wasn't bad enough, you won't even tell me _why_ you did it."

"I'm not doing this right now," I said with a shake of my head and moved to stand up.

He called my name, stilling me. "If you had your way love, we wouldn't even be having this conversation at all and you know that."

"Look, Black, you need to go before someone hears your voice."

"I need to see you," he bargained when it became obvious how resistant I still was.

"No."

"I'm at the Potter's house. Come and see me."

"Like hell." I stared at his face like he was insane. "No way."

"Fine, then I guess I'll have to come and see you instead," he threatened.

"What?" I exclaimed, and if I knew him any less then I would have thought of it as an empty threat. But he was the sort of person that would definitely follow through with it.

"I can apparate to yours within seconds, floo within minutes." I shook my head, trying to intercede when he carried on, "Are your parents home, love? What would they say if I just popped in and introduced myself to them as your soulmate?"

Gritting my teeth, I said forcefully, "Fine. I'm coming through. Now get out of my fireplace."

Black held my gaze for a long moment as if doubting whether or not I would follow through. His eyes were certainly threatening retaliation if I didn't follow through. Nodding again, I watched as he sighed before disappearing. Rising slowly to my feet, I called out for mum and told her that I was going to visit a friend. She didn't protest and just told me to come home before it grew dark.

Flooing to the Potter family's home took a matter of seconds and when I emerged on the other side, I was instantly on the defensive. Stepping out of the fireplace, I looked around the room and found Potter standing beside the fireplace. Raising a silent eyebrow at his presence, I looked past him and found Black seated on the arm of the sofa. When I looked back to Potter, I silently wondered if I should ask whether he knew what his best friend was using his fireplace for. Then I realised how stupid that was; of course he knew.

"Don't look at me like that," Potter said with a shake of his head, already backtracking out of the room. "I'm the one that restrained Sirius from actually coming after you. I'll give you two some space."

My eyes followed Potter as he walked out of the room and left the pair of us alone. Eventually, because I knew I had to, I turned my gaze to Black and the distinct look of triumph in his eyes had me clenching my jaw. Merlin, I wanted to hex him. Black patted the seat on the sofa next to him.

"Sit down." I shook my head, knowing that if I sat, I might just give in. Shaking my head, I watched him with narrowed eyes when he said again, "Sit down."

"The only reason I floo'd over here is because you threatened to appear in my front room," I reminded him. "So just tell me what you want from me."

" _You_."

"Oh please," I scoffed.

"You don't believe me."

"Are you surprised?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Don't you understand soulmates?" he asked eventually, crossing his arms and watching me steadily. "How this is it for each of us? Soulmates are given for a reason. They're selected by the magic that runs through our veins and whether you believe it or not, you're it for me, Young."

His gaze was so intense that I licked my lip nervously. "You're a sweet talker Black, I'll give you that. But I'm not a toy for you to play with."

"A toy," he protested, moving to stand up and approach me.

I shook my head, halting his approach, "Soulmates – it' s a sacred thing and I can't accept the bond between us and then just accept what you're going to give me."

"What I'm going to give you?" he repeated, sounding faint. "What exactly do you think I'm going to do?"

"Soulmates can't be your latest ploy," I said gently, trying to make him see sense. "So, don't you dare use it in that way."

I forced myself to hold his gaze, wanting to see that he truly understood what I was saying. At first, he looked like he was going to protest but then he shook his head. Running an agitated hand through his hair, his face slackened.

"What would it take," he began abruptly, "to make you see that I'm being honest?"

"Earn me," I said before I could take it back. "If you want me the way that you're making it seem, then earn me, Black."

"Earn you," he repeated incredulously. "How do you want me to do that?"

"That's up to you," I murmured before backtracking towards the fireplace. "I should go."

"Before you do," he started, making me glance back at him. "Have you ever noticed that I stopped it? The moment I was old enough to realise just how important soulmates were – before my 17th birthday – I stopped playing around like you're scared about. Surely that has to mean something."

"It's a start," I agreed.

* * *

We had been back at school for no more than half a day and the hallways were already congested. Helga, the first day of seventh year hadn't even finished and now the entire corridor was at a standstill because some of the other students continued to gather around. They weren't even walking!

"Are you seeing this?" I complained, looking over my shoulder at Georgia who took one look at the jam-packed corridor and groaned.

"We're never going to get to Transfiguration at this rate," she grumbled, shouldering one of the sixth years who tried to barge through us. Glaring daggers at the girl, she protested, "Wait your fucking turn."

"If McGonagall decides to give us detention over being late, then that's just unfair," I murmured, rising to my toes to try and see over the shoulder of the people standing in front of me. With a frustrated sigh, I dropped back and asked, "Can you see what's going on?"

"I can't see a thing," she sighed.

Thinking for a moment, Georgia reached out to tap the shoulder of someone in front of us. The Slytherin boy turned and after being asked what was going on, he was quick to tell us that the root cause of the problem was that someone was already causing trouble. Or rather, a group of someone's. The Marauders were already up to their mischief and I felt so bloody stupid.

"I can't believe I actually thought he would stay out of trouble," I said with a shake of my head.

"We don't know how they've caused this block up," Georgia pointed out.

"I'm sure I can think of something," I scoffed.

"Don't judge so quickly." Heeding Georgia's warning, I sighed and looked around the corridor again.

"There's no way I'm going to find out – not with this crowd."

"Give me a second," Georgia said before eyeing the people in front of us.

She moved quickly, taking my hand in hers as she shouldered her way through the people in front of us. Ignoring the complaints of the people that she was pushing out of the way, Georgia pulled me behind her and I almost tripped over my feet to keep up with her. I knew that we had to move quickly or else she would wind up so far ahead of me that there was no chance the I would catch-up.

When we finally made it to the epicentre of all the activity, Georgia released my hand and I glanced around again. The Marauders were facing off with, rather surprisingly, a group of my own housemates. The four Gryffindors were glaring at a group of seventh year Hufflepuff boys and Merlin, although no spells had yet to be thrown around it was obvious that they were almost reaching that point.

My eyes sought out Sirius and found him rather easily standing at the front of the group. His hands curled itself so tightly into a fist around his wand that his knuckles had turned white. If steam could have come out of his ears, it would have. When Lupin reached out to put a steadying hand on his shoulder, Sirius shrugged out of it.

"Say that again," Sirius demanded, voice flinty. His eyes narrowed threateningly, "I bloody dare you."

"What even caused this face off?" Georgia wondered, clearly questioning how members of our own house had gotten themselves into this situation.

"I think we're about to find out," I murmured, looking between the group of Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs.

"Well it's true isn't it?" Wallace demanded, sounding no parts fearful or regretful of what he was supposed to have said.

"It would be fucking Wallace, wouldn't it?" Georgia complained and I almost turned around and told her to be quiet so I could pay attention to what was going on. "The plonker's been asking to have his arse handed to him for a long time now. You can't blame Black for volunteering to do that."

"Watch your mouth," Potter ordered and it seemed like he was really considering reacting in such a way that would lose him his newly appointed position as Head Boy.

"Shut the hell up Potter!" Wallace continued, his lip turning up into a sneer as his eyes didn't even slip past Sirius. "Is the truth too hard to handle, Black? Your soulmate didn't want you and that's why no one knows who she is. She didn't want you, just like your parents didn't."

The gasp that left my mouth was eclipsed only slightly by those from the people around me. Part of me wanted to wallop Wallace on the back of his head before announcing that I was the person he was currently defaming in front of the entire school. Helga, part of me wanted to remind the bastard that his own soulmate was so horrified at being paired with him that she almost transferred schools.

"Go on Black," he continued to egg on, not listening when some of his dormmates tried to get him to stop talking. "Tell us who she is. No doubt you've been paired with someone to match you; a whore that can't keep her legs shut."

It all happened so quickly; Sirius released his wand and stormed forward to grab Wallace by the collar of his robe. Everyone was cheering him on, waiting for the first hit and I probably should have thought more before I acted. My eyes focused on Sirius's raised fist.

"Sirius!" I called out loudly, stepping into the fray and somehow, he managed to hear my voice above everyone else's, above any of his friends.

He turned towards me suddenly, and when I shook my head, he looked at me incredulously, "Did you hear what he said about –"

I knew he cut himself off because he that I wasn't ready for other people to know. It would have been easy for me to say nothing, to let people think whatever they wanted but I doubted that would calm Sirius down. Admitting our connection out loud would calm him down in a way that nothing else would. I knew that for certain.

"The way he was talking about me," I said steadily and the ripples of shock running through the crowd was almost insulting. Merlin, I had managed to surprise Sirius so much that he released Wallace in one go. "I did hear it and I'm taking house points off him since neither Potter or Lupin thought to do that."

"Wait, you –" I cut Wallace off with a sharp glare and just turned back to Sirius.

"We've got Transfiguration next," I said eventually, holding out my hand towards him. His eyebrows rose in shock before he slipped his hand into mine. "Grab your wand and let's get going."

My words and my behaviour had rendered Sirius so speechless that he followed after me as I pulled him through the crowd. We passed Georgia who had no reason to be grinning so widely. Rather surprisingly the people in the crowd let us through without little fuss and then we were on our way. But the moment we rounded the corner, I dropped his hand and tucked mine back into my pocket so I wasn't tempted to take his hand again.

"I'm not asking you to be a saint," I said quietly, not quite able to look at him. But that didn't stop his gaze from settling on my face. "Just don't go getting into trouble because of the likes of Wallace bloody Carr."

* * *

When people talked about the stress of seventh year, they certainly weren't lying. I found myself spending more time in the library, reading over the notes that I'd taken both in and out of the lesson. The stress of the upcoming exams was the unnecessary icing on the stress cake. Looking through my annotated notes, I found myself frowning at a particularly confusing section.

Someone cleared their throat and I wondered if it was to get my attention. Reaching the end of the bullet point I was on, I raised my gaze and looked to the boy standing on the other side of the table. My eyebrows rose in surprise at the sight of the Slytherin and when he gestured to the empty seat across from me, I scanned the area around us. There were plenty of empty seats around and yet he wanted to sit beside me? Clearing my throat, I gestured for him to take a seat.

Forcing myself to avert my eyes back towards my notes, I wondered why in Merlin's name Regulus Black had seen fit to join me at my table. There were so many other places where he could sit. And though I wanted to concentrate on my work, I really couldn't. I found myself watching Black from under my eyelashes, studying him as he worked.

Physically there weren't that many differences between him and his brother. Both brothers shared the same dark hair and the same striking grey eyes. Even though he wasn't as traditionally handsome as Sirius was, he would probably soon catch up with him. The differences between the pair grew more prominent when you considered their personalities. There was no way that Sirius would ever have sat so calmly across from me, putting all of his concentration onto his essay. A prank maybe, but never an essay.

"Young," he called out quietly, and even then, he didn't raise his eyes from his parchment. He continued writing as he spoke, "Rumour has it that you're to be my sister-in-law."

"If things happen the way the Ministry intends it to," I said just as quietly, giving up on trying to focus. Instead, I leaned back in my chair and watched him closely. There were quite obviously other things that he wanted to say but instead of speaking freely, he just continued to write. But it didn't seem to have his full concentration. "Why do you ask?"

"I haven't spoken to my brother since he left home," he confessed abruptly. Reaching the end of the sentence, Black set his quill aside and leaned as far back in his seat as he could. Crossing his arms over his chest, Black watched me for a good moment and I simply held his gaze.

"Black," I prompted.

He sighed and admitted, "I want to speak to him about something. And I need your help with that."

"I don't see how I could be of any help," I protested with a frown. "But you have my word, I'll help you where I can."

Now that he knew I was willing to help him, Black dropped his defensive stance and let his arms drop into his lap. He averted his eyes them, seemingly unable to meet my gaze. I almost asked him why his demeanour had suddenly changed, but I knew better than to prod.

"I've been given the name of my soulmate."

"You can't have," I said instantly with a frown. "You're in your fifth year – nowhere near your 17th birthday. You can't have gotten your soulmate's name yet."

"But I have," he said firmly, finally looking back to me.

I thought on it for a moment. Unless –

"The only time the Ministry gives you your soulmates name early is when the soulmate is a –"

A muggle," he completed for me, sounding grave.

I swallowed thickly, nodding my head slowly. "Well, I can see why you need to talk to your brother."

"I do," he agreed with a long sigh.

"You need to talk to me," Sirius said suddenly, appearing beside me. I looked at him in shock, wondering what he was doing here. He pulled the chair next to me out from beneath the table and sat down beside me.

"Sirius?"

"I was making sure nothing happened," he defended. "I tried not to eavesdrop, just needed to make sure that he wasn't ganging up on you or something."

"Lovely impression you have of me" Regulus grumbled, throwing a sharp glance towards his brother.

"I didn't know how you've changed," Sirius justified with a shrug and I looked between the two brothers a little apprehensively. They weren't going to hex each other, were they? "You're friends with Snape, for God's sake."

I looked cautiously towards Regulus, expecting him to throw a snide comment towards one of Sirius's friends. What I didn't expect was for Regulus to chuckle and for Sirius to join in. Merlin, I was confused.

"So," Sirius settled into his chair, throwing his arm across the back of mine, "tell me about your soulmate."

* * *

The two brothers, after their initial conversation in the library, were almost always by each other's side. Whenever I passed one Black brother in the corridor, he was sure to be with the other and they were most often talking. I could fathom a guess what the majority of their conversations centred around. More often than not, I could hear Regulus's housemates wondering what had gotten into him.

The rest of the castle was talking about the _other_ Black brother, wondering what had gotten into both him and Potter. The two best friends had settled down a great deal already in the first few weeks of seventh year. It was almost a little bit relieving to hear that I wasn't the only one surprised by the change.

Of course, there was a good deal of people who claimed that the two friends had gotten a lot more boring but I couldn't help but think differently. There was nothing wrong with them sobering up a little bit. Especially when they all had other things that they needed to be concentrating on now. The rest of the castle would just have to find other things to occupy themselves, instead of relying on the Marauders to do it for them.

With the Christmas holidays rapidly approaching, the castle was busy with people running around as they tried to make sure that they had everything they needed. I was just on my way back from the library with a stack of books that I had taken out for the holiday. The books were charmed to follow along after me as I navigated my way through the corridors and greeted the people I walked past.

I turned a corner, steps slowing slightly when I saw the two boys that were walking towards me. Sirius, once his eyes had settled on me, headed straight towards me with Regulus in tow. The two brothers shared a look that almost had me narrowing my eyes suspiciously but I smiled nonetheless.

"You two look like you've been up to trouble," I said with a slight laugh.

"No trouble," Regulus assured me.

"Not sure I believe you."

"You _should_ believe us, love," Sirius piped up with a grin that I refused to admit stole my breath. "Fancy meeting up with us over the holiday?"

"Over the holiday?" I repeated a little suspiciously. "The pair of you?"

"Unless you'd rather it be just the two of us?" Sirius asked cheekily and I shared a look with Regulus. We both rolled our eyes and I turned my attention onto the younger Black.

"We decided that it might be best for me to meet _her,_ " Regulus said hesitantly and when my answering smile grew, he spoke more confidently. "So, I can get to know her and so that our parents don't hear anything either. I already know they wouldn't like it when they find out that my soulmate is a muggle." Something told me that was an understatement.

"And you want me to come along?" I guessed and if by the way Regulus looked at me was any indication, I had been correct. "I'd love to. But how do you know where she'll be?"

"The Ministry."

"That seems like a major violation of privacy," I murmured with a frown. I dismissed the concern and looked back towards Sirius. "I'll come along. Just let me know when you want me."

"Oh love, I always want you," Sirius said less than a second later, lowering his voice so his brother couldn't hear it. But I certainly did; eyes widening and flushing red despite not wanting to, I tried to glare at Sirius. The bugger was grinning charmingly at me.

"Helga, you're annoying," I shot back, trying to turn away from him so I could look at his brother.

Part of me hoped that Regulus hadn't managed to realise that something had gone on. But, he wouldn't have been Sirius's brother if he hadn't noticed something. The younger boy was watching the pair of us with a knowing smile and when I went to speak, he was already backing away from the pair of us to give us some time alone. I tried to protest but he was already waving goodbye and jogging away.

"You know," Sirius said contemplatively from beside me, watching his brother as he walked down the corridor. "I think the bastard is growing on me."

* * *

The moment the Christmas holidays arrived, I found myself constantly watching the windows in wait for an owl from either of the Black brothers. And when the owls did arrive, we quickly arranged the entire day and since I was the only half-blood out of the group of us, they really needed a guide to show them around Muggle London.

When the day arrived, the two brothers floo'd separately into my family home so that their parents didn't think that Regulus was up to something. After checking that Regulus was alright, that he wasn't suddenly experiencing cold feet, I asked to see the address that the Ministry had given him. Apparently, she worked part-time in a bookshop and that was where we were planning on finding her today. Together, we apparated into London and arrived at one of the apparition points hidden amongst the popular parts of the city.

Coming out the other side of the apparition, I released my hold on both Black brothers. Turning curiously towards Regulus, I looked him over with a critical eye. Merlin, he stuck out like a sore thumb. And now that I thought about it, so did Sirius.

"What?" Regulus asked, looking over his robes. "Is something wrong?"

"It's my fault," I said with a sigh and reached for the wand holster around my waist. Drawing out my wand, I looked over both brothers with a frown, "I forgot to tell you that robes would stick out in muggle London. I think I might be able to spell them so that muggles would see them as muggle clothes?"

The two brothers shared a look and I would have been a little put out at how little trust they had in my magic, but then they were agreeing with silent nods. It took only a few spells and then I was satisfied, tucking my wand back into its holster. Covering the holster with my coat, I glanced at the bookstore that was directly across the road.

"Remember to keep your wands out of view, boys," I said before leading the way only to stop a few steps later.

Regulus hadn't moved a single inch. Instead, he continued to look apprehensively at the store. Swallowing nervously, his hands fluttered uselessly around him as if looking for something to fix. Coming up with nothing, he settled for running a hand through his hair.

"How will I know who she is?" he asked quietly, looking between me and his brother.

"She might be wearing a nametag," I suggested gently.

"And if she isn't?"

"Ask her name," Sirius said with a roll of his eyes. "The same way you do whenever you meet someone new."

"If you don't want to do this, Regulus –"

"Of course, he does," Sirius insisted with a scoff. He took to his brother's side and linked his arm through his. Pulling him forcefully towards the bookshop, Sirius reasoned, "He just needs a helping hand."

"More like a helpful shove," I murmured under my breath, but I followed after him and hurried into the shop.

Once we finally did make it into the shop, I thankful that the employees _did_ have to wear nametags. From the way Regulus was already pale in the face, he did _not_ need that added obstacle. It appeared that Regulus's soulmate was busy tending to till at the back of the store.

It took some severe prompting from his brother, but eventually, Regulus gathered the courage to go and talk to her. At first, he tried to justify his hesitance by saying that he would be holding up business, and that would have been a valid reason if there had been any other customers in the shop. Apart from the three of us, no one seemed to be in the mood to enter the shop. That might have been because of the temporary repulsion charm Sirius had cast over the shop when Regulus wasn't looking.

And now, he was joining me as I peeked at Regulus from behind a bookshelf. We were a little too far back to hear what the two were talking about, but so far, the sight of Regulus had managed to make her smile brightly so that had to be a good thing, right? Not that Sirius seemed to agree. His worry for his brother was obvious and I found it more than a little endearing.

"Don't do that," he groaned as if Regulus could hear him. "I'd never do that."

I looked at him curiously, "What would you do then?"

Sirius turned his gaze towards me, averting his eyes from his brother. When he met my eyes, he hesitated for a moment before speaking quietly, "Well, if she were my soulmate, I'd start by actually talking to her."

"Because you do that so often," I teased with a gentle laugh.

"Hey," he protested, crossing his arms and propping his shoulder on the shelf as he turned to face me. "It's hardly my fault that whenever I see you, I feel like my tongue is glued to the roof of my mouth."

My smile dimmed a little as I found myself watching Sirius with eyes that felt like I'd been granted the gift of sight for the first time. Stifling slightly under the weight of Sirius's waiting gaze, I cleared my throat and turned back to see what Regulus was up to. Sirius was hesitant to do the same but eventually followed along in time to see that Regulus had managed to make her laugh. From the distance, I somehow managed to make out the rapidly reddening tips of Regulus's ears.

"Merlin, they're adorable," I said quietly, linking my arm through Sirius's and resting my head on his shoulder.

Looking at me in surprise, Sirius cleared his throat. Part of me, an admittedly tiny part, expected him to remove his arm and draw away from me. Of course, he didn't. He simply put his head on top of mine and we continued to watch as Regulus fumbled his way through his first interaction with his soulmate.


	2. Epilogue: 2 Years Later

_2 YEARS LATER_

Sirius and I had reached a point in our lives where we certainly didn't know where we were going. Everyone – bloody Regulus included – said that the next stage was to get engaged and get married but Merlin, just the thought of doing that was terrifying. I'd made sure that Sirius knew that as well, after telling him without mincing my words that, if anytime soon he pulled out a ring for me, he'd find himself with a flat-out rejection. Of course, the look on his face had been enough to reassure me that he wasn't there yet.

We were both content to live exactly the way we were at the moment. Maybe not _exactly_ the same way as Sirius had somehow made it his wish to try and convince me to move in with him. The idea of picking up after him on a daily basis wasn't all that appealing. I was content to just do that on the weekends we spent together. Of course, he promised that I wouldn't have to do that but who did he think he was kidding?

"Are you _sure_ you can't stay any longer?" Sirius asked from where he had thrown himself down on the bed to stop me from packing my overnight bag back up again.

"You know that I can't," I said with a roll of my eyes, holding my hand out for my pyjamas which he tried to hide by sitting on them. "Merlin, you'd think you'd grow just a little less stubborn each week. How do you just keep growing _more_ stubborn?"

Sirius had no answer for that. Instead, he watched in silence as I wrestled the pyjamas out of his hands. Packing my pyjamas away, I eyed Sirius with amusement as he met my gaze with a pout.

Shaking my head slightly, I rose to my feet to head into the kitchen. Of course, Sirius tried to hinder me in any way he could. Wrapping his legs around me, he pulled me back down again. We struggled for another five minutes as I tried to get him to ease his grip and he was doing his damn best to trap me.

"Breakfast?" I asked when I finally got out of his hold, breathing deeply to try and catch my breath to recover from the unnecessary struggle.

"Please," he said, even as he grumbled about how I couldn't seem to leave him fast enough.

As I walked into the kitchen to make some breakfast, Sirius eventually had to follow after me when he realised that I wasn't going to be coming back to appease him. He took over at the pan, making some eggs as I took a bite out of a slice of buttered toast. Hopping up onto the kitchen counter, I watched as he cracked an egg into the pan.

"Why can't you stay a bit longer?" he asked again as if we hadn't been having this conversation since last night. "You promised you'd be at your parents for lunch but that's at least another four hours away."

"Because I have things to do for work," I reminded him, waving my wand at the fridge. The bottle of orange juice flew out towards the glass waiting on the counter and poured itself into the cup before returning to its place. Taking a sip, I gave him a pointed look. "You _know_ that."

"You can still –"

"I'll be back next weekend."

"You know," he started slowly, "we wouldn't have to keep doing this running back and forth thing if you just agreed to move in like I want you to."

Merlin, Sirius had _continued_ to talk about moving in together and because I hadn't given him a definitive answer, he just went on and on about it. Silently drinking my glass of orange juice, I allowed him to talk to his heart's content and hoped that eventually, he would realise that I didn't want to discuss this topic. Of course, that was too much to ask of Sirius. Unless he _had_ realised it and was choosing to continue to bring it up so that I would eventually be forced to give him an answer. Reaching the end of what I was sure was a practised speech, Sirius looked expectantly towards me.

"Maybe later," I evaded and when he opened his mouth to protest, I acted quickly by drawing him into me for a long open-mouthed kiss.

"You can't keep doing that to distract me," he protested with a breathless smile when he drew away.

"It worked, didn't it?" I said triumphantly and he laughed, shaking his head as he plated up his eggs.

"For now," he said fake threateningly. "What's it going to take for you to consider it at least?"

"Maybe if _you_ do something that you find uncomfortable?"

"The idea of living with me is _uncomfortable_?" he asked incredulously.

"You know I didn't mean it like that."

"I do." But that didn't stop him from pouting anyway. "So, what do you want me to do?"

"Come with me to lunch."

"To meet your _parents_?" The way he said that had me laughing as I swung my legs. "You know that's not my forte."

"You don't want to?" I raised an eyebrow, trying to smother a smile.

"Why not?" My smile dropped instantly, not expecting him to agree so easily. "I mean we'll have to cross this bridge sooner or later, right?"

"Merlin's beard," I murmured, looking over him in search of some sign that he didn't want to do this. Scarily, I found none. "You know, you don't have to do this if you don't want to."

"No, no," he protested already heading back to his bedroom. "What should I wear to meet your parents?"

I watched his retreating form with mild horror. Helga help me, what had I gotten myself into? No doubt my mother would love Sirius but my father was another thing altogether. He'd always told me that he would be extremely difficult on whoever I brought home – soulmate or not.

Realising the true damage that could be done in this situation, I jumped off the counter and rushed after Sirius. If he really was planning on coming after me, and he was, then I needed to give him a lot of pointers. _A lot_ of pointers.


End file.
